Kaden Khau 15 - The Tunes of Memory

Kaden Khau 15 - The Tunes of Memory

April 16, 2025

Have you ever went on the drive home, flipped through the radio stations and heard a song you remember from years ago? You start singing along, knowing every lyric like its muscle memory and you don't know why you still know it. This is because your brain loves rhythm.

 Music, unlike any other form of sensory input like touch, smell, or sight, activates a massive network in the brain. I read this study on how rhythm activates a huge neural network in the brain and that a steady rhythm can help activate and regulate certain bodily functions. The rhythm, memory, and repetition of certain songs create patterns within us that our brains latch onto, making music one of the most powerful memory tools we have. 

Even in school this happens. We were taught the ABC's, the states songs, and other forms of academic things that rely on lots of memory to actually the retain the information. But putting and making them into songs makes it a whole lot easier to actually remember them and encodes it into your brain. Music is also deeply emotional. It taps into a certain part of your brain that is it's emotional processor, which strengthens memory formation. That's why we remember songs from emotionally charged moments like a wedding or your birthday.

Music is also prominent in people with memory loss like Alzheimers. When patients forget their children's names, they can still remember tunes from their youth and is basically is neural lifeline. Every song you have ever liked is like a bookmark to your brain, attached to times, feelings, and places. It not song we just hear, but is actually something we remember throughout our life.

Photo from VICE




Comments

  1. SadiaApril 30, 2025 at 9:04 PM

    Hello Kaden! I agree with you that music is connected with memory, it even brings back specific moments or nostalgia. I can relate to the feeling when you are shocked you even know the lyrics, like we don't pay attention yet we know it word to word and I find it amazing how our brains can do that. One thing I remembered after you mentioned memory loss like Alzheimer's, I remember reading about how certain sounds if trained can command us to do it, like the ticking of a clock, and a certain tick means something our body immediately reacts to as a psychological response. I enjoyed reading your blog and liked how you compared our favourite songs with bookmarks in our lives.

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